Open Air St. Gallen
Open Air St. Gallen is an annual music festival held near the city of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Founded in 1977, it is one of Switzerland's biggest and longest-running open air festivals. It is attended by more than 110,000 people each year. The founder of the OpenAir St.Gallen festival is Freddi 'Gagi' Geiger. Back then, organising discos and concerts as a hobby. Gagi and his fellows are eager to create a platform for regional and Swiss bands in particular. They are fascinated by the idea of generating a peaceful community experience on a beautiful festival site on which camping is allowed. Gagi wants to enable the visitors to "have a deep experience, to communicate and get to know each other“. History Open Air St. Gallen 1977: The first OpenAir takes place on the Ätschberg in Abtwil and attracts 2048 visitors. 13 bands play, amongst them all notable Swiss groups including Krokus, which years later become the internationally most successful Swiss rock band of all times. After a power blackout due to bad weather Toni Vescoli and Alexis Korner save the night by playing with a battery operated small cabinet for a tightly bunched audience. Open Air St. Gallen 1978: The new area in Rüti (Abtwil) offers more space. Again the rainy weather results in the break off of the not yet weather proof festival. Open Air St. Gallen 1979 Open Air St. Gallen 1980: The last two festivals in Abtwil. In 1980 the mother of all mudbaths takes place. It takes three days for the waterline in front of the stage to sink. Open Air St. Gallen 1981: The festival now takes place in the Sittertobel. It is the first time that the event under the new name OpenAir Festival St. Gallen attracts more than 10.000 visitors. Open Air St. Gallen 1982 Open Air St. Gallen 1983 Open Air St. Gallen 1984: The characteristic round stage roof is built for the first time and shapes the appearance of the OpenAir St.Gallen to this day. After continuously growing visitor numbers (1983: 23.000) there is a setback in the year 1984. 1985: In spite of a change of leadership and a very short preparation time the festival is a successful one both musically and in terms of attendance. By now there are six international bands playing. Amongst them Joe Cocker and Opus, who with Live Is Life for the first time bring a current number one hit to St. Gallen. 1986: On the occasion of the festival’s 10 year anniversary two presents are made: Prior to the OpenAir festival the Musig Uf De Gass – a concert series in St. Gallen‘s city centre featuring acts from eastern Switzerland – is organised for the first time. Moreover, the festival kicks off on Friday night for the first time. Everything’s just right: the weather, the line-up. And a new visitor’s record is set: 29.500 are there! 1987: By going back to a two-day programme the organisers intend to boil everything down a little. Despite well-known names such as the Live Aid founder Bob Geldof and Los Lobos with their current number one hit La Bamba only 15.000 attend the festival. 1988: Zucchero and Bryan Adams attract numerous visitors to the Sittertobel even before their great breakthrough. Stevie Rey Vaughan’s fantastic concert will be his last in Switzerland – shortly after the festival he dies in a helicopter crash. 1989: It is the year that will hit the headlines for quite a while – not because it is sold out or due to the great weather. Besides the scheduled programme an ad-hoc performance „Grönemeyer (musician) vs. Portner (programme manager)“ occurs. For the purpose of arbitration even the prime father Geiger hits the stage for the last time in an official mission. 1990: In spite of the nasty weather the festival edition 1990 is sold out. 30.000 people dance in the mud with rock legend Santana. Because of a sudden cold snap on Saturday the break off of the festival is considered, however not put into practice. 1991: In the run-up to the 15th anniversary a major photo exhibition including a prize award takes place. The festival is finally extended to three days. However, the quota is reduced to 25.000 due to the area’s strain in the previous year. Ticket prices are raised. 23.000 tickets are sold. The rainy weather again causes a mud bath. 1992: The newly reunited Brecker Brothers provide top-class Jazz while cult singer Van Morrison causes congestion on the bridge. The enormously high artists’ fees and rising costs for infrastructure force the organisers to raise the ticket prices to 75 Swiss francs for a 3-day ticket. First employment of a mobile dish washer at a Swiss OpenAir festival. 1993: From now on „Fun & Music“ is the motto. This means an animation programme, a wider range of food and drinks including alcohol for the first time, the newly arranged bazaar area and extended sanitary facilities (showers). However, the spirit of innovation is not rewarded for the time being: The newly founded association has to face a deficit of 100.000 Swiss francs. 1994: Behind the aqueduct a second stage is built for the first time. Under the heading Best of East a stepping stone for 17 regional bands is brought into being. The Sitter stage’s line-up offers cutting-edge newcomers (Angélique Kidjo, Spin Doctors, Rage Against the Machine), the whole range of currently successful Swiss acts (Stephan Eicher, Patent Ochsner, Züri West etc.) plus legends of rock history such as James Brown and Deep Purple. The line-up finds wide echo throughout Switzerland’s music and media business and brings on a sold out festival in spite of a further price adjustment. For the first time the festival ticket costs more than 100 Swiss francs. A ban on glass in the festival area is introduced. 1995: The Musig Uf De Gass festival celebrates its 10th anniversary. The entry situation is completely reorganised. Thanks to the relocation of the ticket and wristband exchange to the Breitfeld parking and the main station of St. Gallen the queues in front of the main entrance on Friday become a thing of the past. The side stage named Heubühne becomes a platform for music beyond the mainstream and international comedy acts. It is met with immediate popularity among the audience. 1996: 20 years OpenAir St.Gallen! More than 300 people take part in the design competition for the OpenAir St.Gallen poster 96. For the first time there is a fully coloured bus in the city of St. Gallen advertising the 20th festival. The anniversary event is a complete musical success and proudly announces “sold out”. 1997: The festival is sold out at the end of May already and is a tremendous success. In the preliminary stages, however, artist related turbulences cause agitation with the organisers. Neil Young has to cancel his summer tour due to a cut in his finger, Midnight Oil extend their studio time and the substitute band Wu Tang Clan refuses to board a plane in New York. The brilliant concert of INXS will be remembered for a long time. The audience goes wild with the band around Michael Hutchence. It is the last time he is seen with a live performance in Switzerland. 1998: The 22nd edition of the OpenAir St.Gallen – under the slogan True Love – is celebrated by 27.000 visitors. The question of whether Black Sabbath’s or Björn Again’s version of Paranoid is more powerful remains unsettled. 1999: The megastars Metallica are the most expensive band ever booked by the OpenAir St.Gallen. In spite of this headliner the festival is not sold out – on the contrary: the high artists’ fees, production costs plus bad debts put a dent in the OpenAir St.Gallen’s finances. 2000: The 24th OpenAir is once again blessed with beautiful weather. Drastic budget cuts affect this year’s the booking – the organisers have to do without big-name bands. Nevertheless, traditional bands (Huey Lewis & the News) in combination with star DJs (Moby) make for a fantastic atmosphere. Despite the number of 22.000 visitors the festival incurs a deficit. It is only thanks to the support of the city and canton of St. Gallen and suppliers that the OpenAir can be saved. 2001: 25 years OpenAir St.Gallen! A glittering party in the nearly sold out Sittertobel in three days of splendid summer weather. Placebo, Jovannotti, Toploader and David Gray – the line-up is diversified and trendy. 29.000 visitors are having a party at the Sittertobel. Wyclef Jean, the last act of the festival, plays a two and a half hour show and finds it hard to part from the St. Gallen audience. 2002: With 30‘000 visitors the 26th edition of the OpenAir St.Gallen is completely sold out. After a few short rain showers at door opening time the weather remains warm and sunny until the end. The atmosphere is great and culminates in the concerts of Travis and The Chemical Brothers. 2003: Yet another edition of the festival is sold out with totally 90.000 visitors in three days. 3000 volunteers and 37 bands with over 400 musicians from 12 nations are having a ball in the bright sunshine of the Sittertobel. Trash hero, a new waste concept is successfully introduced. Prior to the festival there are strong reactions to the introduction of the can ban. The implementation on site, however, runs smoothly. 2004: Selling 72.000 tickets for the 28th edition of the OpenAir St.Gallen, the festival proves to have established its value in the Swiss festival scene in spite of the growing competition. Thanks to ideal weather conditions and a well attuned organisation the festival passes smoothly and without any major incidents. 38 bands from 11 nations play both stages. The newly launched Bacardi Dome presents the latest dance music with 17 international DJs. 2005: Sold out – one week before the start of the festival already! Edition 2005 is a superlative festival: 30.000 visitors on each of the three days, 3.000 volunteers and 38 bands are enjoying themselves at the Sittertobel with ideal festival weather. In spite of the Live8 concerts that take place at the same time all over the world R.E.M. find their way to St. Gallen to headline the festival. The newly introduced deposit on cups and PET proves of value: the amount of waste is reduced. 2006: A worthy 30 year anniversary, shaped by a great atmosphere, varied, sweeping concerts and last but not least three days of gorgeous summer weather. Even though with a number of roughly 80.000 day tickets the festival is not completely sold out, the outcome of the festival is entirely positive. Innovations in the security area (wave breakers in front of the Sitter stage and security info points on the site) and the rise of the cup deposit to two Swiss francs have proved of value. 2007: Tremendous luck with the weather and a fantastically good mood amongst the audience make for another great festival. Not even the short-term cancellations of Mika and Bright Eyes prevent the festival from being sold out. The young musical line-up which is shaped by British bands such as Arcade Fire, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol, Placebo and Bloc Party once more attracts more than 30.000 visitors a day to the Sittertobel. After six years of Earlybird tickets they are replaced with Nachtschwärmer tickets. These allow 6000 OpenAir fans to access a part of the area on Thursday evening already. The Nachtschwärmer tickets are sold out within one hour. 2008: In spite of the UEFA EURO championship taking place in Switzerland and Austria the OpenAir St.Gallen attracts 29.000 visitors to the Sittertobel. Lenny Kravitz, Justice, Kings Of Leon and other hot acts and newcomers plus the perfect weather make for a jolly and beautiful festival atmosphere. The development of the sanitary facilities is well received. Thanks to additional protective measures the festival grounds are left in very good condition. For the second time after 2007 the festival receives the Green’n’Clean Award of the European festival organisation Yourope. 2009: In the course of the festival once more the sell-out is announced. The soil protection measures are reinforced and the sanitary facilities are further developed. Constant rain on Saturday leads to a mud bath after many years of dry weather. On Sunday the festival is blessed with best weather. This year’s line-up offers musical treats from the alternative area: Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave, The Flaming Lips carry away the audience. 2010: Featuring The Strokes, Kasabian, 30 Seconds To Mars, Billy Talent, LCD Soundsystem and 2manyDJs the festival appeals to a very young, music loving audience. The 3 litre regulation, the progressive line-up and many rival events result in fewer visitors to the Sittertobel. 24.000 people celebrate the 34th OpenAir St.Gallen in bright sunshine and hot summer weather. It is the first time that the entire festival area is open on Thursday already. 10.000 Nachtschwärmer make use of this opportunity. 2011: Along with Queens Of The Stone Age, Die Fantastischen 4, The National, Janelle Monae, Elbow, TV On The Radio and many others the headliner Linkin Park attracts 30.000 visitors per day. Sold out! Superb festival weather contributes to a peaceful and greatly cheerful atmosphere. On Thursday 15.000 Nachtschwärmer tune in to the festival – now with live music at the bars. 2012: A record year in many ways. The OpenAir St.Gallen is completely sold out one month before the festival – which has not happened since 1996. Record temperatures make for record sales at the bars. Die Toten Hosen, Florence & The Machine, Gossip, Paul Kalkbrenner and Deadmau5 provide the soundtrack with their shows. The festival ends with an unforgettable highlight that may well go down in history. Mumford & Sons are united on the stage with musicians of Wolfmother, Paolo Nutini and The Kooks to play a cover of The Band’s „The Weight“ as their last encore – conjuring up goose bumps, tears and a touch of Woodstock. 2013: It’s the first rainy festival in years. The festival site becomes quite a muddy scenery and pictures of happily partying visitors in the mud characterise the media reports. However, this doesn’t change the fact that the year 2013 was an extraordinary one, apart from the bad weather conditions. The tickets were sold out earlier than ever – in February already! The OpenAir St.Gallen is the first Swiss festival to introduce the cashless payment system on the entire site. After some initial difficulties the system runs smoothly. Cashless payment and the electronic access control are two important steps towards the future. Kings of Leon, Die Ärzte and Biffy Clyro make for big moments, Sigur Rós enchant the audience and many hot newcomers such as Jake Bugg and Haim play their first Swiss show ever. The secret headliners Macklemore & Ryan and Of Monsters and Men make the masses dance and sing along. The atmosphere is once again cracking and in autumn the OpenAir St.Gallen is elected as the most popular festival of Switzerland (survey 20Minuten). 2014: For the fourth time in a row the festival is sold out – at the beginning of January already! On Thursday admission is conducted solely through the east entry. This innovation, together with the waiting area from Wednesday on, is considered a great success by the organiser as well as the audience and media: For many years admission hasn’t run so smoothly and speedily as in this year. The introduction of the tent deposit can also be regarded as a success: in spite of bad weather conditions on Sunday, 75% of the tents are taken home by the visitors. The weather stays sunny and warm, except for some rain on Sunday. The colourful musical programme made up of The Black Keys, Seeed, Imagine Dragons, Casper, Sportfreunde Stiller, Foals, London Grammar and many more finds much appeal among the audience. 2015: The festival is sold out at the beginning of January. Besides the headliners The Chemical Brothers, Placebo, Paolo Nutini and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds it is again the smaller and medium Bands that play their way into the hearts of the audience: Royal Blood, Kate Tempest, Jack Garratt, Wanda, Annenmaykantereit. The weather is sunny and hot, there is a festive and peaceful summer atmosphere. The new stage „Musig uf de Gass & Startrampe“ offers an opportunity for regional bands to perform at the festival and is met with great enthusiasm. 2016: Again the festival is sold out at the beginning of the year. For the 40th anniversary the OpenAir St.Gallen and its visitors are given the best of presents: the headliners Radiohead and Mumford & Sons, a great fireworks show and a new festival zone with street arts, street food and charming decoration elements. The «Plaza», as the new zone opposite the main stage is called, proves a great success. The new restaurant «Bloom» – a cozy and exclusive place – is received extremely well, above all among the older festival visitors. The weather pulls out all the stops: Cold and wet on Saturday, sunny and warm on Sunday.